Paper Doll
by nlightnd
Summary: When Tenten and friends are attacked and tortured, leaving her feeling somewhat broken and torn, can Neji help her piece her life, and her self, together again? Rated: T Couples: Neji/Ten, slight Naru/Hina, Sasu/Saku and Tem/?


_A/N: _This is my first Neji/Ten story in almost two years, I think. I'd written a lyric and suddenly the idea for this story hit me over the head. Should any of you want to read the full lyric let me know in a review and I'll be happy to let you view it. However, if you do so, remember no borrowing without permission. :)

* * *

This story is rated Teen for language and references to rape. So if that's not your bag of tea...please, please, please don't read. The couples for this story are as follows: Neji/Ten (obviously), Naru/Hina, Sasu/Saku, Ino/Shika and Tema/?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and company. That distinction belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto. Aside from penning this story, I'm making no financial gain whatsoever. I'm just spinning a tale strictly for the entertainment of others.

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_The world expects perfection  
A facade for their reception  
Who are they to demand  
They don't understand  
Who I am, who I want to be...._

-Excerpt from my lyric, Paper Dolls

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Paper Dolls

Chapter 1: Run

A young, thin brunette hurriedly walked down the streets, rushing by people as if they weren't there, ignoring their curious glances as she moved. She hadn't the time, nor the inclination, to bother with them. As it was, she couldn't stay in any one place to long- she was being hunted. Hunted by a former employer- forced employment or slave to a man who was cold, heartless and a total bastard.

The only regret she'd had after leaving was being forced to leave her friends behind. She hoped Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Temari would understand. She'd promised them that one day she'd return and free them. One day. But knowing what they endured in her absence cut into heart like a knife.

Her pace swift, she found herself caught up in memories past. Unfortunately, most of them she wanted to forget. Remembering them was hell. Any memory not involving her friends was unwanted, uninvited; the only purpose they served was to torment her, knowing that it was a matter of time before she was captured and returned to the personal hell she called life.

**Flashback....................................................................................................................................................**

_Standing on the street minding her own business, Tenten wearing a pair of olive green baggy pants, a dark blue shirt that said 'That's Miss Bitch to you', and wearing a pair of black running shoes. She and her four friends were standing there, only talking, nothing else. The rest of her friends wore jeans, different colored dress shirts and tennis shoes. Usually they dressed up to a T, but tonight had been voted as casual night since Tenten had accompanied them to a movie earlier.  
_

_It'd been late that night, just coming from a movie they'd been dying to see. A romantic comedy. Something that Tenten mentally thumbed her nose at, but went to all the same because her friends begged her to go. And she did. Now, it was around eleven at night and essentially there was very few people out. In other words.....they were alone._

_Without warning, a huge, black stretch limo halted directly before them. Five burly men wearing black suits and shades stepped from the leathered confines, each grabbing a girl and trying to force them into the car. Obviously the girls fought back, kicking, screaming, biting; whatever they could to escape, but to no avail. Each one was tossed into the limo and held in place by their abductors._

_Demanding answers, the girls yelled and threatened. Their captors grinned before they each produced a syringe filled with clear liquid. As if choreographed, each syringe simultaneously was placed in their necks, the plunger depressed, sending the unknown liquid into their bodies. Soon Tenten, Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Temari found themselves sinking into oblivious darkness, the last thought on their minds calling for help. For someone to save them. Although no one heard them. No one would save them. They were on their own, left to whatever fate decreed._

_Some time later they'd awoken, amazed to find themselves in a lavishly decorated room. A huge king-sized bed adorned with black sheets, pillows piled mountainously high._

_Who in the hell needs that many pillows? Tenten wondered._

_The walls were painted red, a blood red color. Two black leather couches sat next to where the girls where standing, almost in the center of the room. A seventy-two inch flat screen television sat on a dark colored entertainment center. There were no windows. Wait. No windows? Then their attention turned to the two doors painted blindingly white, seeming out of place with the dark color scheme._

_Ino ran to the door to the left of the entertainment center, turning the door knob and pulling it open. "Oh, shit, girls! Watch out....there's a pretty boy in the house," she gasped teasingly. _

_All of them glanced into the darkened closet. Various darkly hued suits hung on several racks, as did dark colored shirts. Multiple pairs of dark loafers and dress shoes sat waiting, laid carefully upon several shelves standing calf high from the floor._

_How she could tease they were all amazed. The situation they were in was bleak and Ino was laughing, joking. She was making fun of someone's closet. The very same someone who probably held their lives in his hands. The girl was seriously messed up._

_Sakura went to the opposite door, her thin body shaking with anger and uncertainty. Twisting the knob and yanking it open, she saw no one was there. Smiling, she waved her friends over. "There's nobody there, so I say we run like hell."_

"_I'm in", they chorused._

_Leading the way, her pink hair swishing back and forth as she ran, she glanced back and abruptly ran into a wall. A very solid wall. Her eyes took in the fancy black dress shoes, so shiny you could see your face in them, and of course...a very well fitting black suit. But that's not what made her breath catch._

_There, standing before her was __**him**__. His gorgeous, masculine, however cold, features stared down at them. His ebony hair was pulled back at his nape. And his eyes...his eyes were icy, calculating as they flicked over each one, his displeasure evident._

"_Keep the four of them here while I deal with Sakura first," he ordered them._

_Gripping her arm tightly, he pulled her along with him, entering the room they'd just vacated and slammed the door._

"_Tenten, do you think Sakura will be alright?"_

_Glancing at her nervously, she replied, "I don't know, Hinata. Let's just hope."_

_Temari, hand on her hip, eyes narrowed into cat-like slits, hissed lowly, "I think we're all in deep shit."_

"_I second that," Tenten quietly agreed._

_That's when the sounds of screaming and fighting erupted, along with the sounds of crashing glass. Ino, Temari and Tenten moved to help only they were being held back by the muscled idiots again._

_Struggling fiercely, Temari fought. "Leave her alone you son of a bitch!" She yelled, hoping it would do some good, yet knowing he wouldn't stop. "You better be glad my brother's not here, you asshole!" Her struggles ceased as the man replied back, "Oh, but he comes here often. He's a frequent customer here." _

_His lecherous tone left her feeling dirty and enraged. Her brother better not be a customer here or there'd be hell to pay otherwise.  
_

_Some time later their drop dead gorgeous captor emerged, Sakura in hand; her eyes teary, her body shaking, bruises already manifesting on her pale skin. "Take her to my brother", he ordered, "tell him to keep her busy and quiet until I'm ready for her again."_

_A guard quickly obeyed and Sakura was taken away from them, her sobs echoing in the emptiness._

_One by one, the sadistic, handsome man went through them all: Ino, Temari and Hinata. They'd all been subjected to the same treatment as Sakura. And each time, after he'd finished, he'd ordered a guard to take them to a male member of his family._

_After Hinata had been dragged away, somewhat broken; her white eyes empty, staring into nothing, he turned his frigid eyes on her. Tenten. "Let's see what you've got, Weapons Mistress."_

_She swallowed hard. He knew. Apparently he expected a fight from her. After all, he did know her title from school. Well, if it was a fight he wanted....a fight he'll get, she vowed._

_His pale hand grabbed hold of her arm, its strength like a coiled band of steel wrapped tight. Jerking her toward his room, toward her doom._

_She felt tears well, but she'd be damned if she'd shed them. Not now. If she expected to make it out of here intact her tears, her fears, had to take a backseat. She had to focus, for this wouldn't be just a battle for her life, but everything she held dear, everything she held sacred._

_Closing the door behind them, the sound of the lock engaging echoed loudly; it had the sound of finality, no escape. Then he looked at her, the ice gone from his eyes. Instead, there was a hunger, a burning lurking there. The look of a hunter. The expression of a tiger staring down his prey before the kill._

_Her dark eyes carefully surveyed the room. Apparently, everything that'd been smashed or broken from his previous conquests had been cleaned and removed. Damn it! She'd been hoping for glass shards or even wood splinters to use against her adversary, but no, she couldn't be that lucky. It truly seemed she was on her own, would have to fight on her own; she'd have to use her intelligence and keen eyes. She prayed they'd be enough to save her, yet deep inside her intuition screamed it was already a lost cause. That she was lost.  
_

Locking eyes with him she sneered, giving him an intimidating glare. One she'd learned from Neji Hyuuga, himself. "_Go to hell", she spoke fiercely, falling into a defensive crouch, arms positioned in front of her chest; one leg slid behind the other evenly distributing her weight.  
_

"_This is your hell, Tenten, and I'll be your personal guide." He told her smoothly, without anger. He seemed intrigued by the petite brunette, her dark strands pulled up into twin buns at the back of her hair. Why? Maybe it was because of her reputation for her fierceness, her talent with sharp objects. Maybe it was because, like Temari, she wasn't afraid to fight back, verbally and physically. She was one of the rare few that could give him hell and she knew it. Maybe it was all those things and more that drew him to her, a moth to the flame._

_He lurched at her and they fought. Glass and lamps broke and furniture was trashed as the pair danced lethally around the room, kicking, punching and spinning their way out of each other's grasp. Using her quick footwork, Tenten danced away from his reach, eluding him as she spun faster, kicked harder, higher, in her attempt to stay away or land a blow. A couple of hours later the couple still fought, avoiding broken furniture, heaving for breath._

"_You do not disappoint, Tenten," he admitted proudly. "You've trained well and hard. It seems you're the one."_

"_The one? One what?" She found herself confused. What the hell was this bastard going on about? Her lithe body cautiously bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, refusing to allow him to distract her. To take control of the situation. Calling on everything her closest male friend, and training partner, Neji Hyuuga taught her, Tenten did the best she could, refusing to give him an opening._

"_It doesn't matter. You'll see."_

_Great. Another vague smart ass. It was bad enough that she'd had to endure several during her school years; she even had those same smart asses for friends: Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Gaara, Kankuro, and she'd even included Sasuke as she thought he'd been their friend._

_Her brown eyes watched him carefully, uncertain of his entire potential. It wasn't like Sasuke ever talked about their abilities. Sasuke never really talked. Period. He and Neji were alike in that respect. That and the fact that they were geniuses._

_Sensing her momentarily distracted, he struck. Summoning his bloodline limit, Tenten knew she was screwed._

"_Oh....shit", she whispered, before he captured her will, holding it tightly within his own. Her body fell limp and he deftly caught her, clutching her snugly against his muscular chest to lay her on his bed._

_She lay there, frozen, her will defeated, having no choice but to lay there as he divested her first of her clothes, then his own. Self digust filled her. She should've been stronger than this. It seemed all her training was for nothing. For the first time in years....Tenten was defenseless. She was alone. Where was Neji when she needed him?_

_As her attacker's hands caressed her body gently, almost lovingly, revulsion hit her stomach and crawled across her skin. Tenten almost laughed that he could be gentle, and the way he was touching her was absurd. As if the damned heartless bastard could love. He loved no one but himself. That was a fact._

_His lips gently touched hers, adding pressure, attempting to pry them open. But she remained closed. Eventually he had his way, his tongue free to explore her mouth. He was touching her everywhere, his voice whispering to her, persuading her. And all the while, she could think of Neji, her chances with him lost forever. Her mind cried and screamed at the unfairness of it all. And deep in the recesses of her mind.....the stirrings of vengeance sparked to life._

_Her tears that she swore wouldn't fall fell slowly down her cheeks, wetting the black satin pillowcase underneath her head. _

_Another reason she hated him as much as herself....he'd made her feel weak. Weak and useless. Second of all he'd made her cry. She despised that as equally as being weak. Still her soul screamed, and her tears rained down._

_And that's when the real pain began._

**End flashback............................................................................................................................................**

Her feet pounded the pavement, putting more space between her and them. She continued to run towards the one place she felt safe- the one person who made her feel safe. He would help her. And he'd never turn her away. Feeling more confident than before she ran harder and briefly glanced behind her to see if anyone was following. Nothing. No one. Good.

Just as she'd turned her head back forwards, she ran head first into a well muscled chest, tall and warm.

"There you are, my pet," the glacier voice greeted her, causing her to back away in fear and self preservation.

"How'd you find me so fast?" She demanded to know, chest heaving and muscles aching, protesting the grueling pace, the distance, she'd run.

Smirking, he replied darkly, "Simple really. You've been marked. All five of you. Should you escape...it only takes a short time to find you." He chuckled lowly at his cleverness and her hopelessness.

Taking hold of her arm he jerked her flush against him. "Now, as you've given me quite the workout tonight, we're heading home. Do not do this again," he ordered angrily.

Tenten yelled at him to release her. She was well aware she didn't currently have the strength for another full scale battle. Jerking on her arm, attempting to force him to release her, she hissed in fury, realizing he wasn't about to let go. She felt the first stirrings of complete and utter despair until a voice shattered the night; cold, arrogant and furious.

"Let her go."

A/N: Ok, that's it for chapter one. I haven't written a Neji/Ten story in almost a year or two. Hope you liked it. As long as inspiration, and hopefully reviews, strike, I may try to update later this week. Thanks to all for reading. :)


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